Heroes
by Tsuru Maiden
Summary: "Show me a hero and I'll write you a tragedy."- F. Scott Fitzgerald. Pokemon Special/ Adventures- Red and Yellow; Specialshipping.


Red smiles. Sunlight spills into the church through the rose-tinted glass windows- it seems to envelop Yellow in a form of holy light, like an angel. Beautiful.

They are standing at the altar of the church; Red and Yellow are about to get married.

Red's breath catches in his throat; the sight of Yellow- golden hair (Yellow insisted it was the same color as her name; but Red always thought it was golden like sunlight) braided and woven with an intricate hue of flowers. Done by Blue, probably, Red concludes. He can see her seated next to Silver and Green now in the front row, waving excitedly. Silver looks uncomfortable, but offers Yellow a polite smile when she catches sight of him, and gives Red a respectful nod of his head. Green maintains his stoic facade, but Red knows that his namesake eyes hold a congratulatory note.

Yellow's dress is simple- it hugs her petite body to accentuate her delicate features; it floats around her in a modest circle- not flouncy to the point of suffocation, but just enough to bring out the refreshing child-like aura surrounding her. Red smiles again. She carries a bouquet of white flowers.

The priest is speaking now, Red tries to concentrate; but his eyes gravitate towards Yellow. He can still remember everything- his awkward proposal, Yellow's embarrassed and overwhelmed stuttering that led him into initially believing he was rejected, how they had kissed, how Blue had gotten photos of that (and how he had kept them in his wallet).

Green's silent shaking of his head, as if he had known it all along.

Blue's excited squealing, planning to bring Yellow shopping for a complete new wardrobe.

Crystal's heartfelt wishes- until Gold interrupts her ("Congrats, Senior Red, you _finally_ worked up the gut to propose to Strawhat Gal- hey Crys, when's our turn?").

Silver's silent respects since he has never been good with words, but the small smile on his face expresses his happiness in all.

Ruby's declarations of beautiful when he hears of the news, though he does have several words to say on Red's proposal ("That's not _how_ you confess _or_ propose to a girl, Senior Red!").

Sapphire's messy handwritten card, with big and uneven letters, dotted with several spelling mistakes- but sincere and earnest, nevertheless.

Emerald's nervous words of support, seeing how he holds Red in high regard as his hero in battling, and his respect towards Yellow for being one of the sanest in the group of Pokedex owners (save her naivety).

Pearl's gabbled benedictions as he hurriedly tries to locate Diamond to perform a special manzai he has specifically prepared for Red and Yellow. (They clap enthusiastically even though they understand it even lesser than Sapphire's card)

Diamond's stammers of thanks when he is given a chance to bake the wedding cake- he certainly exceeds himself with the ten-layered confection he prepares with a week's time; along with all the food on the wedding table. (Red can feel Yellow's eyes misting over when she sees how Diamond has made ten layers to represent each Pokedex owner, completed with their names in matching colored icing. The married couple's names were not included- because Diamond had crafted two marzipan figurines- of Red and Yellow in their signature red cap and straw hat respectively, laughing together in a field of white flowers where the former had proposed)

Platinum's carefully crafted poem, even though Red has a hard time deciphering the meaning behind the sixteen-lined poem- and an even harder time reading it, for as messy as Sapphire's writing is, Platinum's words are just as miniscule.

"I do," He remembers his voice was low.

"I do," He recalls that her voice was soft.

_"You may now kiss the bride,"_

Red leans forward. Their lips brush and-

...

He snaps awake, sweating and nauseous- feeling like throwing up. He is not standing at the altar of the church. He is not positioned opposite of Yellow, watching her smile, witnessing her beauty. He is not laughing with Green, Blue and the other Pokedex owners. He is not by Yellow's side, accepting Professor Oak's touching blessings. He is not stammering in front of Yellow's uncle, promising to take care of the latter's niece. He is in the king-sized bed, shivering and sobbing silently; on the verge of breaking down. He is staring at the empty space beside him, and he has to tell himself again-

Yellow is gone.

She's been gone for years now.

The memories starts to flood back again. Red doesn't know how he manages to recall them. Every single happening. Every single detail. But they are etched into his mind; jaded nightmares that will not fade.

He remembers how Yellow's petite body lay in the coffin, how it had looked so serene and calm despite the pain it had to endure when they were fighting a losing battle against the enemy.

He remembers how her favorite straw hat was buried along with her, how he has had to choke back the tears and the throbbing ache in his heart. Because he was a hero, and heroes weren't supposed to cry.

He remembers how there was a calm smile on her porcelain face, how it had seemed that seconds before the attack had rained down and the explosion had occurred, she had already accepted the truth- that she was going to die; because the luck of a Pokedex owner can only bring them so far in life-and-death battles

He remembers how her namesake eyes were glassy and hollow, how had to brush them close with his gloved hands because he could not bear the dull-sheen that had replaced the warmth of her irises.

He remembers how she looked as though she were asleep, how much he wanted to walk over to her and wake her and finish this endless nightmare because it just _couldn't_ be real. Yellow couldn't be dead.

He remembers how it was the first time he has ever wanted to kill someone; the enemy they were fighting. The man responsible for Yellow's death. He remembers the only thing that had halted him from slamming the jagged glass fragment into that murderer's throat was Yellow's contempt for violence. She never would have wanted him to become a murderer because of her.

Red lifts his head up wearily. The vase of white flowers still lay on the table, along with a dusty Pokedex. Yellow's Pokedex. His old Pokedex. It was the only physical figment that remained of Yellow now. Professor Oak had wanted to bury it along with Yellow; but Blue and Green both knew that she would have wanted it returned to the original owner- Red.

So now it lay, the oldest existing Pokedex, on the wooden table. Taunting him. Sneering at him. For a split second, Red is tempted to smash the device apart, along with his own. To let it smash mercilessly onto the cold hard floor and break apart- just like how it had tore Yellow's _life_ apart, the same way it was ruining his now.

Red remembers the silent prayer he made, how he had _begged_ Arceus- told him that he would willingly give up his battling skills, his title, his _Pokedex_, just so Yellow could have been _the_ one that made it through alive instead. He remembers how he had shouted it out, how he would sacrifice all his possessions just so Yellow could be by his side again.

He remembers how the unspoken words "Why couldn't it have been one of you instead?" lingered uneasily amidst the Pokedex owners present for the funeral.

Pain. So much pain. Red is no stranger to pain. After all, he grimaces, when you become a Pokedex owner at the age of ten, you learn to take the hardships and battling as it rolled along (Yellow did too, Red recalled with a dull pang). But at the same time, pain tore at Red, brought him to his knees and reduced him into a shivering ball of tears. Especially at night.

He tries to stop the tears. After all, heroes weren't supposed to cry.

But then, at the same time-

Heroes weren't supposed to lose and die.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's note: I read a post on OTP scenarios, and this seemed a very emotional one that could possibly fit Specialshipping. White flowers were mentioned around three times, I believe, because they symbolised purity and peacefulness (around those lines), and that represented Yellow. I apologise if the ending is quite sloppy, but it was done very late at night, and when I am free again, I will make amendments. Please R and R, thank you! I'm currently working on a series of Pokemon Adventure Drabbles that are (hopefully) more cheerful than this one.<strong>


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